Richard Notkin Studio Visit

This afternoon I was, yet again, lucky enough to tag along with the art grads to another artist’s studio. This was actually a joint visit, as Richard Notkin and Phoebe Toland are married and share studio space in Helena, Montana; we got to meet them both. I’ve been excited to (hopefully) meet Richard ever since I moved here. I saw the PBS Craft In America documentary just before moving and thought, ”Alright,  there are interesting thinkers in Montana!” Notkin’s work has always been about the state of the world and how we need to save ourselves from…ourselves (nuclear weapons, war, etc). He works with traditional forms like teapots and tiles, and you might also know about his ears.

The pile of ears has a few influences. One is the pile of shoes from Holocaust victims- he was raised with Holocaust survivors who taught him to pay attention to what was going on and change what he could. The ears vary in size from an inch to over a foot and are made of clay that’s rendered to look like stone. Their stony appearance is meant to represent deaf ears. In his studio among the many post it notes, he has listed  the old proverb “We were given only one mouth to speak, but two ears to listen.” His work is political (this collage speaks to his thoughts on the current administration) but in a sweeping way–even without the current administration, he’ll be pissed off about something.  He noted that he thinks all art is a political statement: artists are exercising their creative minds instead of the also human take-over-the-world urges.

 

All in all, he’s a really interesting guy and I love that he speaks his mind. That was what was so great about seeing him in the documentary. Parts of it were very hippie-esque but I remember him saying in the doc that he was angry and pissed off about the state of things– and he told me today that they fought hard to keep that in the film. 

 I’ll end with a quote from Notkin, posted in his studio: “I continue to make ceramic sculptures which reflect on the social and political dilemmas of our world. As André Malraux observed, “Art is a revolt against man’s fate”. Need I say more?”

You can see more of his and Phoebe’s studios in my flickr, along with some pics of the Archie Bray foundation in Helena (which perhaps I’ll write more about later).

Ceramics Class!

Seeing as I just signed up for my second ceramics class (starts tonight!) I thought I should finally get around to showing off my wares from the first. 

Ever since I moved here I’ve had an extreme itch to take a ceramics class. Clay is big in Montana- and I used to take classes while getting my undergrad art degree, so I couldn’t resist when I saw a weekend workshop called “Teapots and Serving Trays.” I took it in early November with artist Lea Zoltowski (whose work is unlike any ceramic sculpture I’ve ever seen). I got  my pieces back from the glaze firing in December and I am pleasantly surprised with how they turned out, because I had no color tiles to look at when choosing these glazes. I really enjoyed making them, but worried about the glazing process which was rushed and disorganized. It all worked out okay though, didn’t it?

To create the texture on the serving trays, I pressed vintage lace and doilies into the wet clay. The glazes worked splendidly at filling in the cracks, and I love the subtle color changes in the oval tray, although they  might be a bit overstated in these photos, thanks to winter light. I even like the crack in the square platter. Enjoy the gratuitous photos (more on my flickr).

 

This teapot was a beast to make. It’s gigantic, but it’s functional, so I’ll probably have to serve tea from it at least once. Again, the glaze is totally different than what I imagined, but in a good way. We made our teapots using paper pattern pieces–the process was very much like dressmaking. It’s not a technique I’ve ever seen taught in ceramics, but it makes a lot of sense– make the piece from paper first, then work with the clay. That way if it doesn’t line up, you won’t have wasted too much time.

I’m looking forward to the next seven weeks of classes, because I hope to finally master the wheel. Or, at least begin!

Link Roundup

Thanks to Modish for featuring me in her Handmade Spaces column. Check it out to see pics of my craft room/studio (in a clean state).

All of my hats and earrings are on sale at Etsy- check it out! There’s still a good bit of winter left.

And check out this 2-part post on needlefelting over at ReproDepot where I show you how to make some cute felted owls, then give you ideas on how to use them.  Also exciting: All marimekko fabrics and products are on sale through January 15th! I loooove the print below.

And finally, check out my crochet-slash-art roundup on the Adorn blog.

Have a great weekend.

Quilted Art

I worked on some patchwork pieces on New Year’s Eve & Day (exciting times around here, I tell you). I think that some of them will become pillows, but this one is for a local art show. I figured that the last time I tried to paint I was basically trying to paint fabric, so why not just quilt?

 

I used some hand dyed wool, flannel, suiting and cotton. This was my first attemp with the triangles, and I think they came out pretty well. Although I must say that I cannot WAIT till I get to use my walking foot! Here’s a closeup.

Peep peep!